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  • Monthly Archives: February 2018

    • Wine On Wednesday: Pride

      Posted at 6:00 am by Lisa Cavallari
      Feb 21st

      It’s been a long time since I’ve tasted this wine.  Too long, in fact.  My husband’s first boss out of college came over for dinner a couple of weeks ago with his wife and brought a couple of bottles of Pride Cabernet.  He loved the wine so much when he visited the winery, he signed up for the deluxe membership and now has crates of these bottles cluttering his wine cellar.  Poor chap.  Did I just say chap you are probably wondering?  Yep.  My typing has a British accent when I’m feeling cheeky.  😉  Anywho, it was our pleasure to drink some of his wines from 2006.

      The corks were perfectly intact and the wine tasted young.  I’m used to a brownish tinge and the cork beginning to crumble if the wine is more than 10 years old so it’s a true sign of good wine storage when that’s not the case.  Temperature control, keeping the bottle away from light and storing the wine on its side are the best things you can do to ensure your wine stays fresh and keeps the seal solid.

      The Pride Cabernet is a blend of 88% Cabernet, 10% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot.  The wine was full-bodied and a deep purple red.  Flavors of dark cherry, vanilla, coffee and black tea lingered on the palate and the finish was strong.  The wine definitely needed to be filtered and aerated to prevent the sediment from getting in the glass.  You can see it clinging to the inside of the bottle in my picture above.  This happens a lot with older wines.  We paired this with homemade spaghetti and Italian sausage in a red sauce.  It was perfection!

      If you want to learn more about Pride Vineyard, check out my post from 4 years ago.

      Back in the day, this wine sold for about $60, but you can find it online for prices that range from $80-$200, depending on the website.

      Rating: 🍷🍷🍷🍷.8 out of 5  Exceptional!!

      Cheers my dears!

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      Posted in Red Wine, Wine | Tagged Pride Cabernet, Pride Vineyard
    • Chicken Piccata

      Posted at 7:00 am by Lisa Cavallari
      Feb 10th

      Here’s what’s cooking in our kitchen lately- chicken piccata.  It is packed with flavors from a stab of garlic to delicate shallots and tangy lemon with crisp white wine in the sauce.  Serve it over rice, pasta or a side of mashed potatoes.  This is winter comfort food at its finest.  It also makes great leftovers for the week ahead.

      Heads up: The sauce is the most time-consuming part of making this dinner because you’re adding 1 or 2 ingredients at a time to slowly build the flavors, but the effort is well worth it.

      Chicken Piccata

      • Servings: 4
      • Time: 1 hr 30 mins
      • Difficulty: moderate
      • Print

      Credit: cookinglight.com

      Ingredients

      • 4 (6 oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
      • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
      • 1/4 tsp ground pepper
      • 3/4 cup unsalted chicken stock, divided
      • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided
      • 2 Tbs butter, divided
      • 2 Tbs olive oil, divided
      • 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
      • Lemon slices (optional)
      • 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
      • 1/2 cup dry white wine (I love a citrusy Sauvignon Blanc)
      • 2 Tb fresh lemon juice
      • 1 1/2 Tb drained capers (optional, I’m not a fan)
      • 3 Tb fresh, Italian parsley leaves chopped

      Directions

      1. Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of heavy plastic wrap; pound to a 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin.  Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.
      2. Combine 1/4 cup chicken stock and 1 teaspoon flour in a small bowl.
      3. Dredge chicken in remaining flour and shake off excess.
      4. Heat 1 Tb butter and 1 Tb olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add 2 chicken breasts to the pan cooking each side for 4 minutes or until done.  Remove chicken from pan and keep warm on a rimmed baking sheet in the oven set at 250 degrees. Cook the other 2 chicken breasts for 4 minutes on each side.  Remove from pan and place on sheet with other chicken.
      5. Add remaining 1 Tb olive oil to pan.  Add shallots and lemon slices if using.  Saute for 3 minutes.  Add garlic; saute 1 minute.  Add wine; cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Add remaining 1/2 cup stock; bring to a boil.  Cook 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half.
      6. Stir in reserved stock and flour mixture from bowl; cook 1 minute.  Remove pan from heat; stir in remaining 1 Tb butter, juice and capers.  Place all chicken back in skillet and top with parsley.  Enjoy!

      IMG_5821.JPG

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      Posted in Cooking | Tagged chicken piccata
    • Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

      Posted at 5:30 am by Lisa Cavallari
      Feb 2nd

      IMG_5828

      This recipe is an exceptional crowd pleaser as well as an awesome everyday dessert for your family.  It’s basically just a giant chocolate chip cookie.  It’s a huge timesaver when you’re looking for something fast and tasty for dessert.  A scoop of vanilla ice cream on top is highly encouraged and it’s also best served warm.

      One other tip: if you have a heart-shaped, oven-safe pan, try pressing it in there and serving it for Valentine’s Day.

      Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

      • Servings: 8
      • Time: 30 mins
      • Print

      Credit: marthastewart.com

      Ingredients

      • 6 Tb unsalted butter, room temp
      • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
      • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
      • 1 large egg
      • 1 tsp vanilla extract
      • 1 cup all-purpose flour
      • 1/2 tsp baking soda
      • 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
      • 1 cup chocolate chips

      Directions

      1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine butter and sugars with a hand mixer.  Add egg and vanilla.  Toss in the flour, baking soda and salt and combine.  Fold in the chocolate chips with a wooden spoon.
      2. Press cookie dough into a 10-inch cast iron skillet; smooth top.  Bake until cookie is golden brown and set in the center, 18-20 minutes.  Cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

      Note: In the picture above, I decided to press some extra cookie dough into a smaller skillet for the kids, but normally I make one big cookie.  

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      Posted in Baking
    • Recent Posts

      • Know The Signs
      • Popovers
      • Wine On Wednesday: Pride
      • Chicken Piccata
      • Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie
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